Our Mission
Our mission is to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome stray and abandoned dogs by placing them in loving foster homes and then finding the ideal permanent home for them. We promote the principles of pet ownership, including spay/neuter and heartworm prevention. Our goal is to match needy dogs with the right adopter so that they can enjoy many happy years together.
Leadership Statement
As the founder and president of Dogs 2nd Chance, I have seen our organization grow from a few women able to help just a few dogs to a volunteer base of 20 men, women, and teenagers who work tirelessly to save abandoned and abused dogs. We operate along side at least a dozen other rescue groups, but even with that, we have no where near the manpower or the money to help the many, many needy dogs in our area.
Irresponsible pet ownership and animal cruelty are pervasive in the southeastern United States, and our region is no different. But by saving just one dog, we have enriched many lives: first the dog’s, then the adopter’s, and finally our own. Nothing is more gratifying than watching a starved and frightened dog blossom into a happy, vivacious pet who adores his family and whose family adores him.
Our goal is a carefree, happy and healthy dog who feels safe and nurtured. Our volunteers come from many walks in life and from various ethnic groups and races. Yet we come together to work for the dogs, and in that we’ve developed friendships that have enriched our lives. We also have made an impact, though small, in our communities as we have saved needy dogs and placed them in loving homes. Our organization is unique in offering one-week trial adoptions, which has significantly decreased the number of failed adoptions.
We want to continue our work by growing our volunteer base, foster network, and donations.
— Linda Sutphin
Dogs 2nd Chance is a 501[c]3 non-profit dog foster group that was founded in the fall of 2007.We are a group of VOLUNTEERS that saw the need to help medium and large mixed breed dogs find permanent loving homes. We have evolved to help any size dogs. We are NOT a shelter. We receive no government funding and depend on our minimal adoption fees, donations and our own bank accounts. All of our dogs are fostered in our homes and become a temporary active member of our family. Fostering helps to socialize the dogs, helping them adjust to life in a family setting. The majority of our dogs were abandoned, dumped or found running stray. We attempt to reunite lost dogs with their owners by placing ads in local newspapers and online classified ads. Additionally, we rescue dogs from high kill shelters as space allows. We are caring for the castaways by saving one dog at a time.
With our network of dedicated rescue volunteers, we match homeless and abandoned dogs with forever homes, locally and up the east coast to the New England area where there is a shortage of adoptable animals.
We ensure that the animals are fully vaccinated, spayed or neutered and any medical needs taken care of unless otherwise noted before they are taken to their new forever homes.
Since our inception we have found loving homes for more than 500 dogs and received numerous testimonials, photos and letters from happy owners.
It is deeply gratifying to see animals who were once neglected or abused become loved and loving, pampered pets.
